


Reylo: The Musical

by CarneySibley



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Ben Solo Deserved Better, Broadway References, Canon-compliant for TFA and TLJ, Canon-divergent for TRoS, F/M, Redeemed Ben Solo, Rey is Nobody (Star Wars), Rey is Not a Palpatine (Star Wars), Reylo told in show tunes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-24 18:53:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 51
Words: 12,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22002790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarneySibley/pseuds/CarneySibley
Summary: Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, and Oscar Isaac all sing.  What if Star Wars had been written as . . . a Broadway musical?   This Reylo-centered take on the sequel trilogy tells the story through snippets of show tunes.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 207
Kudos: 62





	1. Overture / Author's Note

Dear Readers,

This fic is my attempt to unite my love of Broadway show tunes with my love of Reylo. I will be retelling the sequel trilogy using snippets of songs from various musicals, with their lyrics edited or sometimes fully rewritten to fit the world of _Star_ _Wars_.

This work will be structured like the CD liner notes of a musical soundtrack. Each chapter will be a scene, and the lyrics for the song(s) in that scene will be written in full. Whenever possible, I will link to YouTube videos of the original songs in the chapter end notes. 

As is typical for soundtracks, _only_ the songs will be included; dialogue and action in-between songs will not be written out. The plot for Acts I and II will generally follow the plots of TFA and TLJ. Act III will diverge from canon, and I will explain plot changes at the beginning of that act.

The usual disclaimers apply: I do not own any of these characters or songs; no copyright infringement is intended; this work is for personal enjoyment only. 

Happy reading – or singing along, as the case may be!


	2. Act I, Scene 1

**ACT I: THE FORCE AWAKENS**

**SCENE 1: A hangar bay on the _Finalizer_**

To the tune of “Who Am I?” from _Les Miserables_

**FN-2187:**

Ren saw I didn’t shoot

He knew it at a glance

And yet he let me go

This here could be my chance

  
How can I stay and fight?

How can I right this wrong?

How will I change myself

Stormtrooper for so long? 

  
If I speak, I am condemned!

If I stay silent, I am damned!  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Who Am I?" from _Les Miserables_. Original English lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer; original French text by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel; music by Claude-Michel Schonberg.
> 
> To hear the original piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfuqyItQiGE  
> Finn’s lyrics begin at approximately 0:20.


	3. Act I, Scene 2

**SCENE 2: A fallen Star Destroyer on Jakku**

To the tune of “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” from _My Fair Lady_

**REY:**

Lots of portions for me to eat

When I scavenge this dur’steel sheet

And lay it at Plutt’s feet

Oh, wouldn’t it be loverly! 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?" from _My Fair Lady_. Original lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner; music by Frederick Loewe.
> 
> To hear the original piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XB82q-9f2Nk  
> Rey’s lyrics start at approximately 0:22.


	4. Act I, Scene 3

**SCENE 3: Niima Outpost, Jakku**

To the tune of “Food, Glorious Food” from _Oliver_

**REY:**

Portions, glorious portions! 

Hot veg-meat and mustard. 

While we’re in the mood,

Poly-starch bread (no custard).

Water, water, and happabore snot;

What next is the question?

Off-worlders would have it, friends:

In-diiiii-ges-tion!

_To UNKAR PLUTT —_

Please, sir, I want some more!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Food, Glorious Food" from _Oliver_. Original lyrics and music by Lionel Bart.
> 
> To hear the original piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9ZoZhfdo0A  
> Rey’s lyrics start at approximately 1:19.


	5. Act I, Scene 4

**SCENE 4: A TIE fighter leaving the _Finalizer_**

To the tune of “Back to Before” from _Ragtime_

****

**FINN** :

There was a time

The First Order seemed never-ending

I was so sure

That where we were heading was right

Life was a road

So certain and straight and unbending

One little road

With never a cross road in sight

Now I know that

I can never kill for them again, no 

Never go back

Poe, you should come away too 

Now I know that

I need to make up my own choices

We can never go back to Jakku! 

**POE** , _spoken:_

We’re going, buddy. I’ve gotta get my droid!   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Back to Before" from _Ragtime_.  
> Original lyrics by Lynn Ahrens; music by Stephen Flaherty.
> 
> To hear the original piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4FWtT8AlCk  
> Finn’s lyrics begin at approximately 0:11.


	6. Act I, Scene 5

**SCENE 5: Snoke’s throne room on Starkiller Base**

To the tune of “War is a Science” from _Pippin_ (2013 Broadway revival lyrics)

**HUX:**

War is a science

Which a general must use

With stratagems and strategies

Statistical analyses

To know how many planets he's prepared to lose.   
  


**SNOKE** , _via holo:_

A general accepts that war is hell and even worse

He must never be too cautious or casualty averse

I'm certain the majority of systems you will splatter

Will be fair to just a minimum of damage that's collateral

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "War Is a Science" from _Pippin_.  
> Original lyrics and music by Stephen Schwartz.
> 
> Listen to the original piece here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDLe1wim7sY. Hux's lyrics begin at approximately 0:07, Snoke's at 1:28.


	7. Act I, Scene 6

**SCENE 6: Aboard Han Solo’s rathtar-hauling ship**

_A giant rathtar puppet (we hope) rolls across the stage, chasing the actors with its slavering jaws. The only sounds are screams and the pounding of booted feet. The actors are too breathless to sing._


	8. Act I, Scene 7

**SCENE 7: Takodana**

To the tune of “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning!” from _Oklahoma!_

**REY:**

There's a whole lot of green in the gal’xy

There’s a whole lot of green in the gal’xy

I never knew mixing yellow with blue

Would make such a beau-ti-ful color; did you? 

**REY, FINN, HAN, AND CHEWIE:**

Oh, what a beautiful mornin'

Oh, what a beautiful day

We’ll have a beautiful feelin'

If th’ First Order stays far away!

_Reprise, later that day_

**REY:**

Oh, what a beautiful planet!

Oh, what a bright shade of green!

Too bad Kylo Ren is chasing me

Because of the map I have seen!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning" from _Oklahoma!_. Original lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II; music by Richard Rodgers.
> 
> To hear the original piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cCrRGYK2rY  
> Rey’s lyrics begin at approximately 0:04.


	9. Act I, Scene 8

**SCENE 8: Kylo Ren’s quarters**

To the tune of “The Man of La Mancha (I, Don Quixote)” from _The Man of La Mancha_

**KYLO REN:** _  
_

Hear me now

O thou cold, unstructured galaxy

Thou art in need of order I see

And because he was right and he is in my head

I bring back Darth Vader to thee!

I am I, Kylo Re-en!

The grandson of Vader!

My destiny calls and I go

And the voice of my grandpa

Will carry me onward

To finish what he started, oh

Finish what he started, oh,

Onward to glory I go!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "The Man of La Mancha (I, Don Quixote)" from _The Man of La Mancha_. Original lyrics by Joe Darion; music by Mitch Leigh.
> 
> To hear the original piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UUDguFEa5E  
> Kylo's lyrics begin at approximately 0:04.
> 
> Thank you to [Wookiesauntie70](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wookiesauntie70/pseuds/Wookiesauntie70) for the suggestion of "Man of La Mancha.”


	10. Act I, Scene 9

**SCENE 9: A First Order rally at Starkiller Base**

To the tune of “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” from _Gypsy_

**HUX** :

We’ll be swell!

We’ll be great!

Gonna have the gal’xy on a plate!

Starting here, starting now.

Phasma, everything’s coming up Starkiller.

Now’s our inning.

Stand Hosnian on its ear.

Send it spinning.

That’ll be just the beginning!

Fire it up!

Drain the sun!

There’ll be no Republic when we’re done!

We’ll be swell.

We’ll be great.

I can tell.

Just you wait.

Nothing’s gonna stop us ‘til we’re through!

Phasma, everything’s coming up Starkiller for me and for you!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Everything's Coming Up Roses" from _Gypsy_. Original lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; music by Jule Styne.
> 
> To hear the original piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsnctgVoc5o. Hux's lyrics start at 0:26; however, I skipped the second verse and replaced "That lucky star I talk about . . . " with its counterpart from the final chorus.


	11. Act I, Scene 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you are not already familiar with the song in this chapter ("Confrontation" from _Les Miserables_ ), I strongly suggest listening to it before reading. This is a duet where the characters are often singing against, rather than in harmony with, one another. Listen (and see original lyrics) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Fe7GV-OJgQ. When both are singing, the character of Javert has the lyrics to the left of the center photo; the character of Jean Valjean has the lyrics to the right. 
> 
> For those of you who intend to sing along in your head, please take note: I made a few changes to the voicing in order to accomodate Kylo Ren's greater number of lines in the interrogation scene. Javert's solo lines have been split across Rey and Kylo. Valjean's entire solo portion has been assigned to Kylo as well. When Rey and Kylo sing simultaneously, Rey follows Valjean's melody and Kylo follows Javert's. I have taken the liberty of imagining additional lines which, while not based upon the interrogation scene, give us additional insight into the characters.

**SCENE 11: An interrogation room on Starkiller Base**

To the tune of “Confrontation” from _Les Miserables_

**REY:**

Where am I now?

And where are the others?

**KYLO REN** :

You are my guest

And I have no idea.

Before you say another word, my guest.

Before I take whatever I need to take.

Listen to me! I know that you’ve seen the droid.

It’s carrying a piece of a map that I need.

The Imperial archives hold the rest.

I want it now – your mind holds it indeed.

You’re so lonely. Afraid to leave.

Desperate at night . . .

**REY:**

Get out of my head!

**KYLO** :

I’ve seen your island and seen Han

Men like him can never change

He’d’ve disappointed you.

**REY (KYLO):**

Believe of me what you will (Men like him can never change)

I am not giving you anything! (You’re afraid; you shouldn’t be)

You know nothing of my life (Yes, yes I feel it too)

All I want is family (You saw, you saw the droid)

You know nothing of my world (I’ll take the map!)

You have gone inside my head (Give me it, give it to me now)

But now the tables turn; I’ll go in yours (Now the wheel has turned around; my efforts are nothing now)

I tell you, I see your mind! (What do you know of my life?)

You’re afraid you’ll never be (And the price I had to pay?)

Afraid that you will never be (I was born a Skywalker)

As strong as Darth Vade-er! (I’ve a heavy legacy)

I tell you, I see your fear! (You know nothing of my fear!)

You’re afraid you’ll never be (My mother was never home)

You’re afraid that you can’t do (My dad was afraid of me)

Can’t do what must be done! (I have always been alone)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weaving together the competing voices was trickier than anything else in this story (so far). Comments, including gentle concrit, are welcome. Let me know what worked — or didn’t! — in the duet! 
> 
> ———————————————
> 
> "Confrontation" from _Les Miserables_. Original English lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer; original French text by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel; music by Claude-Michel Schonberg.


	12. Act I, Scene 11

**SCENE 11: Starkiller Base oscillator chamber  
**

To the tune of “I’d Give My Life for You” from _Miss Saigon_

**HAN:**

You didn’t ask to be dark – you

Why should you stay in war and pain

To make sure you’re not hurt again

I swear I’d give my life for you.

You will be who you want to be

You can choose whatever the Force grants

As long as you can have your chance

I swear I’ll give my life for you.

**SNOKE** _, offstage:_

No place

No home

No life

No hope

No chance

No change

No regret

No return

No goodbye

To the tune of “What Have I Done?” from _Les Miserables_

**KYLO REN:**

What have I done?

Sweet Force, what have I done?

Killed my dad in the night

A patricide on the run

And have I fallen so far

And is the hour so late

That nothing remains but the cry of my hate

The cries in the dark that nobody hears

Here where I stand at the turning of the years.

If there’s another way to go

I missed it six long years ago

My life was a war I could never end

Snoke gave me a home and made me Kylo Ren

When he masked me and left Ben for dead

All because he had lived in my head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I'd Give My Life for You" from _Miss Saigon_. Original lyrics by Alain Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr.; music by Claude-Michel Schonberg.
> 
> To hear the original piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwB3Zxh2gSE. Han's first verse starts at approximately 0:42, second verse at 2:43. Snoke's part starts shortly thereafter. 
> 
> SPOILERS FOR MISS SAIGON: If you know the story of _Miss Saigon_ , the assignment of this song to Han is even more poignant. Kim (the character who sings the original) ultimately sacrifices her life in her attempt to reunite her child with his father and bring him to a better home. 
> 
> "What Have I Done?" from _Les Miserables_. Original English lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer; original French text by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel; music by Claude-Michel Schonberg.  
> To hear the original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eq2JF0Zou2A. Kylo's lyrics begin at approximately 0:18.


	13. Act I, Scene 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to [DancingAndTheDreaming](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DancingAndTheDreaming/pseuds/DancingAndTheDreaming), who suggested "Devil Take the Hindmost" for this scene and also helped me think through the appropriateness of keeping "devil" from the original lyrics. Ultimately, we decided that since Han refers to hell in ESB, it was a reasonable choice for Kylo.

**SCENE 12: The snowy forest on Starkiller Base**

To the tune of “Devil Take the Hindmost” from _Love Never Dies_

**KYLO REN:**

Look at you - thought you left

Ran away, traitorous

Shall we two make a bet?

Devil take the hindmost

**FINN:**

Look at you, foul as sin

Hideous, horrible

Call the stakes, deal me in

Devil take the hindmost

**KYLO,** _nodding towards REY, who lies stunned under a tree:_

Her future we’ll set tonight

**FINN:**

So we shall

**KYLO:**

Is she yours or mine?

**FINN:**

Draw the line

**KYLO** :

If I win, she comes with me

**FINN** :

I won’t lose

**KYLO** :

You die out here

**FINN** :

Fine!

**KYLO** :

Disappear

**FINN:**

Fine!

If I best you, if I win?

**KYLO** :

Then you’re both free again

**FINN** :

Very well, let's begin

**BOTH:**

Devil take the hindmost

_A few minutes later, after REY arises to set her own future in motion:  
_

To the tune of “Maria” from _West Side Story_

**KYLO,** _looking dreamy and abstracted_ **:**

Re-ey!

My family saber went to Re-ey! 

And suddenly I know

Why the saber didn't go

To me

Re-ey!

My equal in power is Re-ey! 

And suddenly I know

My Force ways I must show

To her . . .

_KYLO would’ve continued rhapsodizing, but REY attacked him with the lightsaber._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Devil Take the Hindmost" from _Love Never Dies_. Original lyrics by Glenn Slater; music by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
> 
> To hear (and see) the original: https://youtu.be/43cK054S_fU  
> Kylo and Finn's lyrics start at approximately 0:37.
> 
> "Maria" from _West Side Story_. Original lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; music by Leonard Bernstein.
> 
> To hear the original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yGepUKw4SI.  
> Kylo's lyrics start at approximately 0:30.


	14. Act I, Scene 13

**SCENE 13: The _Millenium Falcon,_ en route to Ahch-To**

To the tune of “The Wizard and I” from _Wicked_

**REY** :

Has this really all happened?

Have I actually understood?

This weird quirk I try to suppress or hide

Is the Force that could

Help me meet Skywalker

And do the galaxy good

If only he would

When I meet Skywalker

Then I’ll prove my worth

When I meet Skywalker

I might understand my birth!

And with all his Jedi wisdom

He won’t fear what I find inside me

It’s awake, and I’m afraid,

But with his help I'll start to see

And this gift or this curse

That I have inside

Maybe at last I’ll know why!

When we are on Ahch-To

Skywalker and I

**END OF ACT I**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SPOILERS FOR WICKED: I know, I know . . . I stole a couple of Rey's lines from TLJ, so they're technically out of order. I wanted to emphasize Rey's personal reasons for seeking Luke because the parallels with Elphaba are so strong. Like Rey, Elphaba seeks to understand the power which differentiates her from her peers, and she yearns for the sense of significance and belonging her family did not provide. 
> 
> "The Wizard and I" from _Wicked_. Music and original lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. 
> 
> To hear the original piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTPlVe2csUI. Rey's lyrics begin at approximately 0:50. At 1:50, skip forward to 2:35 for the inspiration behind the final five lines.


	15. Act II, Scene 1

**ACT II – THE LAST JEDI**

**SCENE 1: The Resistance fleet above D’Qar**

To the tune of “You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two” from _Oliver!_

**POE:**

In this life, one thing counts

Downing ships, large amounts

Victories don’t grow on trees

You’ve got to bomb a dreadnought or two

You’ve got to bomb a dreadnought or two, boys

You’ve got to bomb a dreadnought or two

**BOMBERS AND BLACK SQUADRON:**

Victories don’t grow on trees

You’ve got to bomb a dreadnought or two

**POE:**

When I hear General Hugs

I help him not be smug

He won’t retreat; must shrink his fleet

You’ve got to bomb a dreadnought or two

You’ve got to bomb a dreadnought or two, boys

You’ve got to bomb a dreadnought or two

**BOMBERS AND BLACK SQUADRON:**

Won’t retreat; must shrink his fleet

You’ve got to bomb a dreadnought or two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two" from _Oliver!_   
> Music and original lyrics by Lionel Bart.
> 
> To hear the original piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bv7ZbgbM4Y. Poe's first verse starts at approximately 0:32, second verse at 3:26.


	16. Act II Deleted Scene

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter corresponds to the deleted scene called "Not Much of a Sewer" on the TLJ bonus features DVD. If you're not familiar with this scene, it shows Poe giving his jacket to Finn, with poor-quality sewing repairs completed by Poe himself (hence the scene title). The scene occurs just before Leia slaps and demotes Poe.

**DELETED SCENE: A corridor on the _Raddus_**

Taken directly from “Consider Yourself” from _Oliver!  
_

**POE** , _to FINN:_

Consider yourself

At home

Consider yourself

One of the family

I’ve taken to you

So strong

It’s clear

We’re

Going to get along!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Consider Yourself" from _Oliver!_  
>  Music and lyrics by Lionel Bart  
> Hear the original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0a1HYYmiXM  
> Poe's lyrics start at approximately 0:10.


	17. Act II, Scene 2

**SCENE 2: The bridge of the _Raddus_ and Kylo Ren’s TIE Silencer**

To the tune of “Chavaleh (Little Bird)” from _Fiddler on the Roof_

**LEIA** :

Little Ben

Little starfighter

I can feel you there

Just outside my ship

Flashing by in such a blur

All I can see is my solemn child

Such a sweet little boy you were

Benjamin

Benjamin

****

_KYLO REN listens, trembling_ , _and eases his thumb off the firing control of his Silencer._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the canon novel _Last Shot_ , "little starfighter" is Lando's nickname for toddler Ben. I figure Leia would've known about it and possibly used it herself. Besides, what other nickname has the right number of syllables to replace "Chavaleh"?
> 
> "Chavaleh (Little Bird)" from _Fiddler on the Roof._  
>  Original lyrics by Sheldon Harnick; music by Jerry Bock. 
> 
> To hear the original piece (with a teenage Josh Groban playing Tevye! How can you pass that up?!?): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKUNXYhsirg. Leia's lyrics start at approximately 1:30.


	18. Act II, Scene 3

**SCENE 3: A viewport on the _Raddus_**

To the tune of “Miracle of Miracles” from _Fiddler on the Roof_

**RESISTANCE MEMBERS:**

Wonder of wonders

Miracle of miracles

The Force took up Leia by the hand

Turned her around and miracle of miracles

Led her to the ship again! 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Miracle of Miracles" from _Fiddler on the Roof_.  
> Original lyrics by Sheldon Harnick; music by Jerry Bock. 
> 
> To hear the original: https://youtu.be/maLHWBv13Jk  
> The Resistance lyrics most closely correspond with the verse that starts at 1:05.


	19. Act II, Scene 4

**SCENE 4: The _Millennium Falcon,_ Ahch-To**

To the tune of “Send in the Clowns” from _A Little Night Music_

**LUKE:**

Back on this ship

Here without Han

I can’t believe the news that

My friend is gone

All stories end

Once it was clear

What I should do

I saw the good in Father

His light I knew

All stories end

All stories end

Just when I started opening doors

I feared the darkness I saw in the boy who was yours

Breaking a family apart with that Skywalker flair

I disappeared

Now you ask, “where?”

What to do now?

Should I reach out?

Help my sister as she tries

Th’ Order to rout?

And what is my end?

 _(Spoken)_ My story should end!

 _(Sung)_ All stories end

**LEIA** , _s_ _poken via R2's old holo:_ Help me, Obi-Wan. You're my only hope.

**LUKE:**

Artoo, that was

A really cheap move

There’s no point to going back

I’m out of my groove

All stories end

I ought to end

Sis . . .

I wish you were near

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Send in the Clowns" from _A Little Night Music_.  
> Music and original lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. 
> 
> There are a million recordings of this song, but the one that I associate with Luke is this one featuring Dame Judi Dench: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvZex3Qf7QQ. Luke's lyrics encompass the entire piece.


	20. Act II, Scene 5 (ForceSkype #1)

**SCENE 5: Kylo Ren’s quarters on the _Supremacy_ / Rey’s hut on Ahch-To**

To the tune of “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face” from _My Fair Lady_

**REY** :

You!

**KYLO** **REN** :

You!

**REY** :

You!

**KYLO** :

You!

( _Spoken_ ) You will bring Skywalker to me

( _Sung_ ) You are not doing this yourself

You’re not accustomed to this power

It’d kill you in an hour

All I 

Can see

Is you

Just you

So no-o

This is something else

**REY** , _spoken:_

You’re gonna pay for what you did

**KYLO** , _spoken_ :

Luke!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" from _My Fair Lady_.  
> Original lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner; music by Frederick Loewe.  
> Hear it here: https://youtu.be/q0ZmjLtC0IM
> 
> Take note of the instrumental opening. At 0:02, there's a blast of brass which makes me think of Rey's blaster shot. The next several seconds have a light, dance-y quality that reminds me of Kylo's little foot-slide into the corridor. Rey and Kylo's lyrics begin shortly thereafter and continue through the first minute of the song.
> 
> I had the pleasure of seeing the Broadway revival of My Fair Lady at the Lincoln Center Theater in 2018. Downton Abbey fans, take note -- Harry Hadden-Paton played Professor Henry Higgins! When I first posted this chapter, there were no recordings of his performance on YouTube, but I just discovered a newly-posted one and have updated the link above!


	21. Act II, Scene 6 (ForceSkype #2)

**SCENE 6: The _Supremacy_ / Ahch-To**

To the tune of “Monster” from _Frozen: The Broadway Musical_

**KYLO REN:**

Why is the Force

Connecting us like this?

Not coincidence

It’s deliberate   
  


**REY** :

Murderous snake

I found Skywalker

You won’t find him now

Too late

Lo-ser  
  


**KYLO** :

Did he tell you what happened 

The night I burned it down?

 **  
REY** :

I know all I need to know

And you’re the worst around  
  


**KYLO** :

Ah, you do

You have that look back in your eyes, you see 

Just like in the forest 

The time when you called me

  
A monster

Were you right?

Has the dark in me

finally come to light?  
  


**REY** :

You _are_ a monster

Full of rage

Nowhere to go

But on a rampage  
  


**KYLO** :

Yes, yes I am a monster

In a cage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Monster" from _Frozen: The Broadway Musical_.  
> Music and original lyrics by Robert Lopez and Kristin Anderson-Lopez.  
> To hear the original piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0T6N6sevm4.  
> Kylo and Rey's lyrics begin at approximately 0:10.


	22. Act II, Scene 7

**SCENE 7: A casino on Canto Bight**

To the tune of “Luck Be a Lady” from _Guys and Dolls_

**FINN AND ROSE:**

They call you Lady Luck

But there is room for doubt

At times you have a very unladylike way of running out

You're in Canto Bight with us

The Codebreaker looks lush

And yet before this evening is over you might give us the brush

You might forget your manners

You might refuse to stay

And so the best that we can do is pray

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Luck Be a Lady" from _Guys and Dolls_.  
> Original lyrics and music by Frank Loesser.  
> To hear the original song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W9QJe4BgPo  
> Finn and Rose's lyrics begin at approximately 0:11.


	23. Act II, Scene 8 (ForceSkype #3)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _Hamilton_ is a unique mix of rap and singing. If you're not familiar with it, I highly recommend listening to this scene’s music before reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z8q5kNbEoU
> 
> Hamilfans, note that Kylo’s lines initially follow the rhythm of A. Ham, with Rey’s rhythm coming from A. Burr; however, there are occasional swaps. Kylo fully takes over Burr at “Your greatest weakness . . .” 
> 
> Blame the crack which follows on Lin-Manuel Miranda.

**SCENE 8: The _Supremacy_ / Ahch-To**

Rapped, spoken, and sung to the beat of “The Room Where It Happens” from _Hamilton_

**REY:**

I’d rather not do this

**KYLO:**

Yeah, I know

**REY:**

But will you stop to talk about your pa General Solo?

**KYLO:**

No

**REY:**

You know when – oh my

**KYLO:**

What?

**REY:**

You’ve been going to the gym

The Swolo legacy is secure

**KYLO:**

Sure

**REY:**

And now I gotta shift my eyes

**KYLO:**

I work out with Snoke

You oughta give it a try

**REY:**

Hah!

So why’d’ya hate your father and kill him too?

I need to hear an honest answer comin’ from you

**KYLO:**

Really?

Hate him?

Not me

Do whatever it takes to kill the past

And set yourself fre-ee

Your mama and your daddy were merciless

Well, they threw you out like the garbage

**REY:**

They didn’t!

**KYLO:**

It’s true, Rey

You gotta know

**REY:**

But!

**KYLO:**

And Luke’s not a father or a winner

Your greatest weakness is you’re looking for a father figure here and there and everywhere you go, so

You need to know the truth about my life that night, not what Luke told you previously no, no

Luke sensed my unprecedented Force power, just as he senses yours, and he feared it

The man who was supposed to mentor me tried to kill me in my sleep, and here’s the tricky bit:

No one else was in the hut where it happened

The hut where it happened

The hut where it happened

No one else was in the hut where it happened

The hut where it happened

The hut where it happened

No one else knows how the game was played

What Luke was gonna trade

And how Ren got made

They just assume that it happened

No one else was in the hut where it happened

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "The Room Where It Happens" from _Hamilton_.  
> Original lyrics and music by Lin-Manuel Miranda.  
> To hear the original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z8q5kNbEoU  
> Rey and Kylo's lyrics start immediately and continue until about 1:35.
> 
> To read the original lyrics, and see that the "Swolo legacy" wasn't completely gratuitous: https://www.themusicallyrics.com/h/351-hamilton-the-musical-lyrics/3679-the-room-where-it-happens-lyrics.html


	24. Act II, Scene 9 (ForceSkype #4)

**SCENE 9: Rey’s hut on Ahch-To, with mirror cave flashbacks**

To the tune of “No One is Alone” from _Into the Woods_

**REY:**

I should’ve felt panicked

But I never did

It was leading somewhere

Answers it would give

  
Let me see them now

Ple-ease

Show me my parents . . .  
  


I thought I would find them

Find my answers here

But the mirror failed me

Nothing did appear

  
I feel so alone

Never so alone

I wish . . .

**KYLO** :

I know.  
  


 **REY** :

I thought I would find them

  
 **KYLO** :

Let the past go  
  


 **REY** :

But no answers here  
  


 **KYLO** :

There is more for you  
  


 **REY** :

I feel so alone now  
  


 **KYLO** :

You’re not a-lone  
  


 **REY** :

Nei-ei-ther are you  
  


 **KYLO** :

I am here and  
  


 **BOTH** :

You are not alone  
  


 **REY** :

Believe me,

You are not alone  
  


 **KYLO** :

You are not alone.

Believe me.  
  


 **REY** :

Truly

 _(Spoken)_ It isn’t too late . . .   
  


_Reprise, following REY and KYLO’s visions of one another:_

**BOTH** :

You will stand by my side

You are not alone  
  


**LUKE:**

STOP!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “No One Is Alone” from _Into the Woods_.  
> Music and original lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.
> 
> Hear the original piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xaxP_kErTU  
> Rey’s lyrics begin at approximately 0:07; at 1:47, skip ahead to the reprise at 3:35.


	25. Act II, Scene 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This scene doesn't correspond to anything actually shown in TLJ. Imagine it happening immediately after Rey's fight with Luke. Picture her pausing for a moment of contemplation as she packs up and readies the Falcon for takeoff. 
> 
> A big "thank you" goes to [Wookiesauntie70](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wookiesauntie70/pseuds/Wookiesauntie70), who wrote roughly half of the lyrics for this scene, back when this musical was just a flurry of ideas traded in an ever-growing email chain!

**SCENE 10: The _Millennium Falcon,_ as Rey prepares to leave Ahch-To  
**

To the tunes of “Memory” and "Memory (Reprise)" from _Cats_

**REY** :

Ahch-To

Not a sound from the porg nests

And that old Jedi master

Didn’t teach me a thing

In the firelight

I thought I knew what happiness was

For a moment

Not alone

Touch me!

Is it easy to leave me?

All alone in the firelight

Of the hut Luke just trashed

I remember the vision that I saw of your life

Let the vision

Live again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Memory" and "Memory (Reprise)" from _Cats _.  
>  Original lyrics by Trevor Nunn, inspired by the poetry of T.S. Eliot; music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. __
> 
> I know the _Cats _movie has been terribly received (I haven't seen it), but it bears remembering that the original Broadway production won seven Tony awards in 1983, including Best Musical.__
> 
> __Rey's lyrics are cobbled together from different verses across the two songs. Hear the original Broadway cast:__  
>  "Memory" https://youtu.be/LwtoDY140o4  
> "Memory (Reprise)" https://youtu.be/Ys1s60dpvzs  
> 


	26. Act II, Scene 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The scene in this chapter doesn't correspond to anything actually shown in TLJ. Imagine it happening after Holdo kicks Poe off the bridge, probably in the same room where Poe secretly comms Finn and Rose to check their progress. Immediately after this scene, Poe goes off to start a mutiny.

**SCENE 11: The _Raddus_**

To the tune of “Adelaide’s Lament” from _Guys and Dolls_

**POE** :

The average hotheaded flyboy

Basically insecure

Due to some long frustration may react

With highly mutinous actions

Trying to secure

Control for himself while keeping the crew intact

In other words

Just from waiting around

For some action from Holdo

A person can haywire go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Adelaide's Lament" from _Guys and Dolls_.  
> Original lyrics and music by Frank Loesser.  
> Hear it here: https://youtu.be/VLdCahQz5tY  
> Poe's lyrics begin at 0:23 and continue through 1:03.


	27. Act II, Scene 12

**SCENE 12: A turbolift on the _Supremacy_**

To the tune of “As Long As You’re Mine” from _Wicked_

**REY** :

You needn’t do this

There’s conflict in you

Tearing you in pieces

And ripping you through

Ben, when we touched hands

I could foresee

Standing beside you

You turning to me

I saw your future

So solid and clear

You won’t bow before Snoke

You’ll stay with me right here

And if it turns out

You need help from me-ee-ee-ee

I’ll be sure to help you — you’ll see

It’ll turn out fine

**KYLO** :

I saw something too

A time long past

Rey, I saw your parents

Saw them at last

When the moment comes

You’ll be set free

You’ll be the one to turn

You’ll stand with me-ee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty sure that if the elevator ride had lasted five minutes longer, I could’ve used the next verse without changing a word:
> 
> Every moment  
> As long as you’re mine  
> I’ll wake up my body  
> And make up for lost time  
> Say there’s no future  
> For us as a pair  
> And though I may know  
> I don’t care
> 
> “As Long As You’re Mine” from _Wicked_. Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz.
> 
> Hear the original song: https://youtu.be/YtDuejcrzBQ
> 
> See a clip of the original Broadway cast, with Norbert Leo Butz as Fiyero and Idina Menzel as Elphaba: https://youtu.be/Swk1dCn6Xiw  
> (This clip picks up near the end of Rey's part and continues beyond Kylo's.)


	28. Act II, Scene 13

**SCENE 13: Transport loading bay, the _Raddus_**

To the tune of “Tomorrow” from _Annie,_ but with a mournful, almost forced edge

**AMILYN AND LEIA** :

The sun’ll come out

Tomorrow

Bet your bottom credit that tomorrow

There’ll be sun

Just thinking about

Tomorrow

Clears away the cobwebs and the sorrow

‘Til there’s none

When I'm stuck in a war

Once more

We’re losing

I just stick out my chin

And grin

And say

Oh

The sun’ll come out

Tomorrow

So ya gotta hang on

'Til tomorrow

Come what may

Tomorrow!

Tomorrow!

I love ya

Tomorrow!

You're always ---

**LEIA,** _breaking in to speak:_

I can’t finish it, my friend. Too many losses . . .

**AMILYN:**

Sure you can. You taught _me_ how. 

**LEIA AND AMILYN** _take deep breaths before singing_ _with heartfelt conviction_ :

Tomorrow!

Tomorrow!

I love ya

Tomorrow!

You're always

A day

Away!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Tomorrow" from _Annie_. Original lyrics by Martin Charnin; music by Charles Strouse.
> 
> Watch this song performed in the most recent Broadway revival (2012): https://youtu.be/qPgMuBJDEnM
> 
> Thank you to[ Wookiesauntie70](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wookiesauntie70/pseuds/Wookiesauntie70) for the song suggestion!


	29. Act II, Scene 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those intending to sing along, voicing changes are as follows:  
> Snoke is, of course, Hades. The Praetorian Guard performs Hermes’ narration. Rey sings both Orpheus and Persephone. Kylo’s lines are from Eurydice’s.

**SCENE 14: The throne room on the _Supremacy_**

To the tune of “Papers” from _Hadestown_

**SNOKE** :

Young Rey

Such a delight to meet this way

Come close; let me see your eyes

I warned my young apprentice

That his match in the light would rise

‘Twas Skywalker, I assumed

How wrong of me to presume

In your mind his home I’ll view

And with the cruelest stroke I’ll kill you

**REY** :

You underestimate Ben

**SNOKE** :

Oh, you mean Kylo Ren?

**REY** :

His name is Ben Solo

**SNOKE** :

Not anymore, oh no

**PRAETORIAN** **GUARD** :

Rey was a scavenger girl

**SNOKE** :

You hear me, Rey?

**PRAETORIAN** **GUARD** :

You might say she was naive

**SNOKE** :

Kylo’s here to stay

**PRAETORIAN** **GUARD** :

But this poor girl raised up her voice

with her heart out on her sleeve

**KYLO** :

No!

Rey, you should go

**REY** :

I’m not going back alone

I came to take him home!

**SNOKE,** _laughing maniacally_ _:_

Who the kriff do you think you are?

Who do you think you’re talking to?

He couldn’t go anywhere

Even if he wanted to

It was I who bridged your minds

I’m the one who stoked his soul

Now you will give me Skywalker

And then your head will roll

_REY screams as SNOKE invades her mind._

**SNOKE** :

The Jedi

Now will die

And look!

The Rebels too

Oh, you didn't know?

He'll kill you now himself

Fulfill his

**REY** :

It isn’t true —

**SNOKE** :

Destiny

**REY** :

It isn’t true —

What he said — Ben —

**KYLO** :

I know what I have to do

**SNOKE** :

As for you —

Everybody gather ‘round

Everybody look and see

What becomes of trespassers with no respect for propert— _hnnng_!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is “hnnng” an appropriate noise to make when one is being cut in half with a lightsaber? 
> 
> "Papers" from _Hadestown_. Original lyrics and music by Anais Mitchell.
> 
> Listen to it here: https://youtu.be/fSMoZUUBfNs  
> Snoke's lyrics begin immediately.
> 
> SPOILERS for _Hadestown_ :  
>  _Hadestown_ , which won the 2019 Tony Award for Best Musical, is a retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Impoverished Eurydice grows tired of her struggles and signs a contract with Hades, believing that she will have more stability in Hadestown. In actuality, she makes herself Hades' property. Orpheus risks his life in a reckless attempt to rescue his beloved. Sound at all like a gender-swapped version of our favorite space couple? Yeah, I thought so too.


	30. Act II, Scene 15

**SCENE 15: The throne room on the _Supremacy_**

To the tune of “Let It Go” from _Frozen: The Broadway Musical_

**KYLO REN** :

It’s time to let all the old things die

Not a Jedi to be seen

No Skywalker, Sith, or Rebels

No Snoke; he was obscene

The Light’s been howling like a swirling storm inside

Couldn’t keep it in; Force knows I tried

Rey, please come in

Just look and see

We’d bring new order

To all the galaxy

**REY** :

Don’t do this, Ben

Let the fleet go

**KYLO** :

Rey, now I know:

  
Let it die, let it die

Can’t hold me back anymore

Let it die, let it die

Turn away and slam the door

No more fighting who I am

Let it all die now

I’ll become what I’m meant to be anyway

It’s funny how this dead Snoke

Seems weak and very small

And the voice that once controlled me

Can’t get to me at all

It’s time to see what I can do

To test the limits and break through

Jedi and Sith, they’re not for me

I’m free

Let it die, let it die

Rey, your parents are long gone

Let it die, let it die

Say the truth; your heart’s not wrong

Say it, Rey, and you’ll be free --

**REY** :

They were no-bo-dy.

**KYLO:**

Rey, I want you to join me; take my hand tonight 

**REY:**

Ben, don’t, please don’t go this way; you don’t need to do this now!

**KYLO** :

Rey, let it go; move forward; truth’s a freeing blast –

You know your parents’ truth! What’s past is in the past! 

Let it die, let it die

You have no place in this story-y-y

Let it die, let it die

You’re nothing – but not to me

Join me, please

And we’ll rule today

Rey, I beg of you . . .

Let’s become who we’re meant to be anyway

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Let It Go" from _Frozen: The Broadway Musical_. (But let's be real . . . I have two kids, so the movie version is what I hear in my mind!) Original lyrics and music by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez.
> 
> Hear it here: https://youtu.be/sn-06qX_5ig


	31. Act II, Scene 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is another scene which doesn't correspond to anything actually shown in TLJ. Imagine Rey raging around the Falcon while Chewie pilots them back to the Resistance.

**SCENE 16: The _Millennium Falcon_ , en route from the _Supremacy_ to Crait**

To the tune of “Without You” from _My Fair Lady_

**REY:**

What a fool I was, what a nerf-herding fool

To be taken by a pair of pretty eyes

What a fool I was

What a Knockback-drinking fool

What a gnawjaw-bitten dolt was I

No, my space-gas-spewing friend

You are not the beginning and the end

The Resistance will fight without you

The _Falcon_ will still fly without you

There'll be green on the tree

An island by the sea

There'll be rations and tea without you

Chewbacca will thrive without you

Somehow Leia survives without you

And there still will be rain on th’ Ahch-Tonian plain

Even that will remain without you

I can do

Without you!

You, Kylo Ren, who fought so well

You can go to the Reaches, the Rim, the Regions!

We can still win the war without you

The Force still will be here without you

And without much ado we can all muddle through

Without you!

Without your pulling them, sandstorms blow in

Without your twirling them, the planets spin

Without your pushing them, the clouds roll by

If they can do without you, Benny, so can I

I will not feel alone without you

I can stand on my own without you

So go back in your shell

I can do kriffing well

Without . . .

_REY breaks down in tears of frustration. CHEWBACCA looks on mournfully._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Without You" from _My Fair Lady_.  
> Original lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner; music by Frederick Loewe.
> 
> Hear the original song (the 2018 Broadway revival recording is finally on YouTube!): https://youtu.be/wT3knwHjaBg


	32. Act II, Scene 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yet another scene that doesn't directly correspond to TLJ! Just as Rey processed her feelings after leaving the Supremacy, so too must Kylo.

**SCENE 17: Kylo Ren’s shuttle, en route to Crait**

To the tune of “No Good Deed” from _Wicked_

**KYLO:**

No good deed goes unpunished

All helpful urges should be circumvented

No good deed goes unpunished

Sure, I meant well

Well, look at what well-meant did

All right, enough!

So be it

So be it, then

Let all the galaxy be agreed

I'm dark side through and through

Since I could not succeed

My Rey, in keeping you

I promise no good deed

Will I attempt to do again

Ever again

No good deed

Will I do

Again!  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "No Good Deed" from _Wicked_.  
> Original lyrics and music by Stephen Schwartz.
> 
> Hear it here: https://youtu.be/_vXF60wtCQU  
> Kylo's lyrics start at 2:30. I drafted a longer version starting near the beginning of the song but decided to cut right to the most powerful section. If Kylo’s TFA lightsaber tantrums are any indication, his feelings can go from zero to sixty in no time!


	33. Act II, Scene 18 (ForceSkype #5)

**SCENE 18: Abandoned base on Crait / boarding ramp of the _Millennium Falcon_**

Taken directly from “Down Once More / Track Down This Murderer” from _The Phantom of the Opera_  
  


**REY** :

The tears I might have shed

For your dark fate  
  
Grow cold

And turn to tears of hate!

_KYLO gazes up at REY in mute misery as the ramp slams shut._

**END OF ACT II**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Down Once More / Track Down This Murderer" from _The Phantom of the Opera_. Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; lyrics by Charles Hart.
> 
> Hear it here: https://youtu.be/ZjTFWrB00wA?list=PLoRMcp797qeusskmeFPwQHPRyFsv7K7e0  
> Rey’s line starts at 4:57.
> 
> Technically this is out of canon, since the TLJ novelization explicitly states for this scene, “There was no hatred in [Rey’s] eyes, as there once had been. But there was no compassion, either.” But hey, we’re abandoning canon in the next act anyway, so why not start now?


	34. Intermission / Act III Synopsis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _The Rise of Skywalker_? Never heard of it.

**ACT III: THE RISE OF SOLO**

_Synopsis_

Three months after the battle of Crait, the Resistance continues to struggle. Not wanting to burden an increasingly frail General Leia Organa, Rose takes it upon herself to lift the group’s spirits (“Heart”). Rey slips away, dogged by a sense of melancholy, the cause of which is revealed only after she retreats to the solitude of the _Falcon_ (“I Guess I’ll Miss the Man”). Rey is not the only one caught in regret; alone in her quarters, Leia questions the choices she made as a parent (“If He Walked Into My Life”). 

Across the galaxy, Kylo Ren reflects on his life as Supreme Leader (“What You Own”). General Armitage Hux sings of his own life’s purpose (“Stars”). Hux — without Kylo Ren’s permission — launches a surprise attack on a Resistance ship. Leia is badly hurt in the attack. Kylo, learning that his mother survived the _Raddus_ attack only to flirt with death by Hux’s hand, breaks down emotionally. The bond opens for the first time since Crait, and Rey is flooded with compassion for her bondmate (“Down Once More / Track Down This Murderer”). She comforts him wordlessly before the bond closes once more.

Desperately needing a quiet place to consider his future, Kylo flees to an isolated beach on his homeworld of Chandrila. While there, he experiences a vision of Han Solo. Han caresses his scarred face with a father’s forgiving gentleness. Emerging from the vision, Kylo finds the inner strength to turn from his path and reclaim his Solo identity (“Testimony”). Kylo — now Ben — boards his TIE, determined to return to his flagship and change the course of the First Order. 

Ben drops out of hyperspace and is immediately attacked by First Order TIEs. Hux has taken command of the ship in his absence. The bond opens, and Rey quickly assesses the situation. Stretching through the Force, she guides Ben through a series of lightspeed skips, ending with coordinates for the Resistance-occupied planet of Ajan Kloss. A mixture of hope and dread fills Rey as she contemplates seeing her bondmate in person again (“Something’s Coming”). Sensing Ben’s arrival on the far side of Ajan Kloss, she takes Chewie, Leia, and the _Falcon_ to meet him.

Ben struggles to express his deep regret to his mother and uncle (“Words Fail”). Rey narrates Leia’s reaction as she watches from a distance (“It’s Quiet Uptown”). 

Leia, Chewie, Ben, and Rey agree that the best course of action is to keep Ben hidden from the rest of the Resistance. They will credit an unnamed spy for the First Order information they receive from him. Back at the base, Rey shares the “spy’s” information with the younger Resistance leadership: Rose, Finn, and Poe. A long night of planning culminates in a toast (“The Story of Tonight”).

The Resistance members begin preparing for their roles. Ben and Rey spar constantly in the deep woods of Ajan Kloss, sharing tales of their pasts as they do (“I Think I Got You Beat”) and growing ever closer. Poe blows up a few things. Meanwhile, Leia’s old friend Ransolm Casterfo encourages Finn and Rose in their efforts to hack into First Order comm systems, with the goal of inciting a stormtrooper rebellion (“Make Them Hear You”). As the Resistance and the First Order approach their final confrontation, various Resistance members reflect upon their hopes (“One Day More”). 

The day of the attack arrives. From a tiny ship hidden on a nearby moon, Finn and Rose successfully broadcast a message of rebellion directly to Stormtroopers’ helmets. A number of troopers rise up against the First Order (“Do You Hear the People Sing?”). Poe provides distraction while Rey (and secretly, Ben) boards the First Order flagship. Amid the chaos, Ben and Rey easily capture Hux. They choose to spare his life, deciding that the galaxy deserves to see him publicly tried for his crimes. Resistance bombardments have destroyed the brig, so Hux is temporarily sealed into a storage room — a storage room which happens to have an airlock. Unable to comprehend a world in which Kylo Ren has spared his life, he commits suicide by leaping out the airlock (“Javert’s Suicide”).

Finn and Rose, along with additional Resistance members, board the ship and lead the defecting Stormtroopers as they subdue the remaining First Order personnel. Ben, using biohexencryption codes that Hux was unable to disable, broadcasts a message to the remaining First Order troops across the galaxy, ordering them to stand down. Alone at last, Ben and Rey finally confess their mutual feelings (“Something Good”). 

Meanwhile, Poe impulsively boards the ship with several other pilots, intent on finding and destroying Kylo Ren (“The Mob Song”). Ben and Rey’s romantic moment is broken when Poe bursts into the room and fires at Ben. Ben stops the blaster bolt just in time, but the mental damage is done: in that instant, he realizes he will never be truly free of his dark legacy. He releases the bolt and fakes his own death, allowing Kylo Ren to “die” so that Ben Solo may live (“How Long Must This Go On”).

Ben and Rey flee the ship, making a brief stop on Ajan Kloss to bid Leia goodbye. They discover Leia slumped in her quarters, nearing the very end of her strength (“The Impossible Dream”). Leaving a Force-healed Leia behind to lead the galaxy to a lasting peace, Ben and Rey fly away in the _Falcon_ to build a new life together (“With You”).

As the Resistance members move into the next phase of their lives, they pause to raise a glass to the departed Rey and to all those who persevere in hope during periods of darkness (“We Raise Our Cups”). 

_Finis_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Acknowledgements:
> 
> The idea of Stormtrooper rebellion incited via comm system is drawn from the superb "Day Follows Night; Dark Follows Light" by [LyricalRiot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LyricalRiot/pseuds/LyricalRiot).
> 
> I first encountered the concept of Kylo Ren dying so that Ben Solo might live in "Divergent Dreams" by [Kerichi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kerichi/pseuds/Kerichi).
> 
> Speaking of death, Leia's Force healing is a twist on a similar situation in "Long Game/The Orphan of Riosa" by [Wookiesauntie70](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wookiesauntie70/pseuds/Wookiesauntie70), who also beta read this chapter. Thanks, my friend!
> 
> Although I can't recall any specific plot points I used from "Bonded" by [Chridder](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chridder/pseuds/Chridder), it has so greatly influenced the way I think of Rey, Ben, and Poe that I would be remiss not to mention it here as well.
> 
> Finally, thank you to everyone who left kudos or comments on Acts I and II. I appreciate your support so much!


	35. Act III, Scene 1

**SCENE 1** : **Resistance base, Ajan Kloss, three months after the Battle of Crait**

To the tune of “Heart” from _Damn Yankees_

_ROSE, POE, FINN, REY, and assorted off-duty personnel are gathered around small tables in a makeshift gathering area, glumly discussing ships, supplies, and scarcities._

**ROSE** , _rising to her feet:_

 _(Spoken)_ We’re not looking at this the right way.

 _(Sung)_ You’ve gotta have heart  
All you really need is heart  
When the odds are sayin' you'll never win  
That's when the grin should start  
You've gotta have hope  
Mustn't sit around and mope _  
_Nothin's half as bad as it may appear  
Wait'll next year and hope  
When your wins are nearin' zero  
Get your chin up off the floor  
Someday you can be a hero  
You can open freedom’s door  
You’re sticking to it but to do it

You've gotta have heart  
Miles 'n miles ‘n miles of heart  
Oh, it's fine to be a genius of course  
But keep that fathier  
Before the cart  
First you've gotta have heart

 **FINN:**  
A Star Cruiser we haven’t got

 **POE:**  
A new X-wing we haven’t got

 **SURALINDA JAVOS:**  
Freedom of press we haven't got

 **FINN, POE, SURALINDA:**  
What've we got?

 **ALL PERSONNEL EXCEPT REY:**  
We've got heart  
All you really need is heart  
When the odds are sayin' you'll never win  
That's when the grin should start

 **ROSE** , _spoken:_ Now you get the idea!

 **FINN, POE, SURALINDA, ROSE:**  
We've got hope  
We don't sit around and mope  
Not a solitary sob do we heave  
Don’t leave, 'cause we've got hope

_REY, unnoticed by the others, slips away._

**FINN** , _catching Rose by the hand and swinging her into a dance:_  
We're so hopeful that we're hummin'

 **ALL:**  
Hmm-hmm-hmm

 **SURALINDA:**  
That's the hearty thing to do

 **ALL:**  
Hoo-hoo-hoo

 **POE:**  
'Cause we know our ship will come in

 **ALL:**  
Hmm-hmm-hmm

 **FINN,** _releasing Rose with a twirl:_  
So it's three months overdue

 **ALL:**  
Hoo-hoo-hoo  
We've got heart  
Miles 'n miles 'n miles o' heart

 **POE:**  
Oh, it's fine to be a genius of course

 **ROSE:**  
But keep that fathier before the cart

 **CUTAR HAR** , _jumping up from his chair:_  
So what the heck’s the use of cryin'?

 **FINN:**  
Why should we curse?

 **SURALINDA:**  
We've gotta get better, 'cause we can't get worse!

 **ALL:**  
And to add to it, we've got heart  
We've got heart  
We've got heart  
We’ve got heart.

 **POE** , _spoken_ : Thanks, Rosie. You’re the best. 

**FINN** , _spoken_ : But where’s Rey? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suralinda Javos and Cutar Har are minor characters in the canon novel _Resistance Reborn_. In their pre-Resistance lives, Suralinda was a journalist and Cutar was a famous grav-ball player. I will be sprinkling in other characters from RR in future Resistance songs.
> 
> “Heart” from _Damn Yankees_. Original lyrics by Jerry Ross; music by Richard Adler.  
> Hear it here, from the 1958 film version: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry8CpIg2fvU


	36. Act III, Scene 2

**SCENE 2: The _Millennium Falcon_ , parked on Ajan Kloss**

A lightly edited rendition of “I Guess I’ll Miss the Man” from _Pippin_

 **  
** **REY,** _curled up in the co-pilot’s seat, stares out the viewport at the jungle and begins to hesitantly sing_ :

I guess I miss the man  
Explain it if you can  
His deeds were far from kind  
But still I miss our bond  
And reaching out to touch his mind

Some days he wouldn't say  
A pleasant word all day  
Some days he'd scowl and curse  
But there were other days  
When he was really even worse

Some men are heroes  
Some men outshine the sun  
Some men are simple, good men  
This man wasn't one

And I don’t miss his moods   
His gloomy solitudes  
His blunt abrasive tone  
But please don't get me wrong  
He was the first to come along  
And say I’m not alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love this song for Rey, partly because of the similarities between Kylo/Ben and Pippin (more on that below), and partly because this is exactly how I think Rey would react after the heightened passions of TLJ cooled. Rey has learned — recently and painfully — not to cling to delusions. She will be torn between a clear-eyed assessment of Kylo’s failings and a longing for all that Ben could be.
> 
> SPOILERS FOR PIPPIN:  
> Let’s compare Pippin and Kylo/Ben, shall we? Both:  
> \- descend from royalty  
> \- commit patricide  
> \- experience an identity crisis  
> \- look for fulfillment in all the wrong places before finding it in love
> 
> “I Guess I’ll Miss the Man” from _Pippin_. Original lyrics and music by Stephen Schwartz.  
> Hear it here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kU1MdeaefiA


	37. Act III, Scene 3

** SCENE 3: Leia’s quarters at the Resistance base on Ajan Kloss  **

A lightly edited rendition of “If He Walked Into My Life” from _Mame_

_**LEIA** sits at a table in her quarters, massaging her temples. She lifts her head, gazes through the steam rising off her cup of caf, and begins to sing: _

  
Where is that boy with the tooka doll?

My little love who’d stand on my feet to dance 

Where is that boy with the tooka doll?

And why didn’t I keep him home when I had the chance?

Did he need a stronger hand?

Did he need a lighter touch?

Was I soft or was I tough?

Did I give enough?

Did I give too much?

At the moments when he needed me

Did I always turn away?

Would I be there when he called

If he walked into my life today?

  
_LEIA rises and begins to slowly pace the room as she sings.  
_

  
Were his days a little dull?

Were his nights a little wild?

Did I overstate my plan?

Did I stress the man

And forget the child?

And there must have been a million things

That my heart forgot to say

Would I think of one or two

If he walked into my life today?

Should I blame the times I pampered him

Or blame the times I bossed him?

What a shame!

I never really found the boy

Before I lost him

Were the years a little fast?

Was his world a little free?

Was there too much of a crowd?

Too many nanny droids 

And not enough of me

Though I'll ask myself my whole life long

What went wrong along the way

Would I make the same mistakes

If he walked into my life today?

If that boy with the tooka doll

If he walked into my life today.  
  


_LEIA sinks back into her chair, pushes aside the rapidly cooling caf, and buries her face in her hands._   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the original context, this song was sung by an aunt mourning her estrangement from the nephew she helped raise, but the regrets are the same! My headcanon regarding Leia’s parenting is that she was frequently absent due to her political obligations, and that the time she spent with Ben was heavily focused on training him for his own eventual public role. Remember, Leia herself was raised with an emphasis on preparation for her future royal duties. (You can read about her upbringing in Claudia Gray’s excellent canon novel, _Leia: Princess of Alderaan_.)
> 
> Ben’s tooka doll is canon detail from the novel _Aftermath: Empire’s End_.
> 
> For a funny look at young Ben’s “wild nights” with Han, check out this delightful art by my favorite SW fan artist: https://mobile.twitter.com/KasiopeaArt/status/1128731955829325826
> 
> “If He Walked Into My Life” from _Mame_. Original lyrics and music by Jerry Herman. Hear it here: https://youtu.be/3Eo7zND1N8k


	38. Act III, Scene 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It may appear that this is a Force bond connection with Kylo and Rey singing together. It is not. I am keeping the original context of this song, in which — however implausibly — the characters essentially sing simultaneous solos while hundreds of miles away from one another.

**SCENE 4: Kylo’s quarters on the _Finalizer_ / Rey’s quarters at the Resistance base**

To the tune of “What You Own” from _Rent_

 _  
_ **KYLO** :

Don't breathe too deep

Don't think all day

Dive into work

Fly the other way

That drip of hurt

That pint of shame

Goes away

Just play the game

  
You’re living in the First Order

In the year 34 ABY

You’re living in the First Order

Leave your conscience at the tone

And when you’re living in the First Order

In the year 34 ABY

You're what you own

**REY** :

The Supreme Leader cannot see

**KYLO** :

And the scavenger cannot hear

**REY:**

Yet I see Leia everywhere

**KYLO:**

Han’s voice is in my ear

**REY** :

Just tighten those shoulders

**KYLO** :

Just clench your jaw ‘til you frown

**REY** :

Just don't let go

**BOTH** :

Or you may drown

** BOTH (REY): **

You’re living in the First Order (Resistance)

In the year 34 ABY

You’re living in the First Order (Resistance)

Doing things you can’t condone 

And when you’re living in the First Order (Resistance)

In the year 34 ABY

You're what you own

  
So I own not a notion

I escape and ape content

I don't own emotion - I rent

**KYLO** : 

What was it about that night?

**REY** :

What was it about that night?

**BOTH** :

Connection

In an isolating age

**KYLO** :

For once the shadows gave way to light

**REY** : 

For once the shadows gave way to light

**BOTH** :

For once I didn't disengage

**KYLO** :

Rey, I miss you, I miss you,

I miss it, I miss it, our bond! 

Hux, no

Call me a hypocrite

We are not chasing the rebels 

We quit! 

**REY** :

Ben, I know it, I know it,

I know her, I know her, trust me!

Your mom will

Forgive you

Come home! 

** BOTH (REY):  **

Dying in the First Order (Resistance)

In the year 34 ABY

We're dying in the First Order (Resistance)

For visions all our own

But when you’re dying in the First Order (Resistance)

In the year 34 ABY 

You're still alone

I'm still alone

I'm still alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “What You Own” from _Rent_. Original lyrics and music by Jonathan Larson. 
> 
> Hear it here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cJCUjF5153Y


	39. Act III, Scene 5

**SCENE 5: Hux’s quarters on the _Finalizer_**

To the tune of “Stars” from _Les Miserables_

**ARMITAGE HUX** , _gazing out the viewport:_

There, out in the darkness

The Resistance is hiding

Fallen from law, fallen from grace  
  
Stars be my witness

I never shall yield

Till we come face to face

Till we come face to face

They know their way in the dark

But I know the straight way forward 

Those who follow the path of my power

Shall have their reward

And if they fall as Palpatine fell

The flame, the sword

Stars, in your multitudes

Scarce to be counted  
  
Filling the darkness

With order and light

You are the sentinels

Silent and sure

Keeping watch in the night

Keeping watch in the night

You know your place in the sky

You hold your course and your aim

And each in your season returns and returns

And is always the same

And if you fall as Palpatine fell

You fall in flame

And so I will strike

No matter what Ren says 

He’d let th’ Order burn around us

I will not falter and if he falls

I’ll take control 

  
Oh, let me find them

That I may see them

Safe behind bars

I will never rest

Till then, this I swear

This I swear by the stars!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Stars” from _Les Miserables_. Original English lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer; original French text by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel; music by Claude-Michel Schonberg.
> 
> To hear the original piece: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WNOz8woSu_o


	40. Act III, Scene 6 (ForceSkype #6)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I say, back in the Overture, that I wouldn’t write out dialogue and action between songs? I LIED.

**SCENE** **6: Kylo Ren’s quarters on the** ** _Finalizer /_ Resistance medical facilities**

Music at the scene’s end is taken directly from “Down Once More / Track Down This Murderer” from _The Phantom of the Opera  
  
_

_KYLO paces back and forth like a caged beast, scrolling through a report on a datapad and muttering to himself._

**KYLO** _, under his breath:  
_ Hux, KARKING Hux, what a worthless piece of bantha fodder, lost the whole division, can’t even follow simple orders. I explicitly said NOT to pursue the Resistance, and he defies MY wishes, launches a kriffing attack on their . . .

_KYLO’s voice trails off as he freezes mid-stride. The datapad slips from his hands and crashes to the floor, its screen shattering. KYLO sinks to his knees. Through the shards of transparisteel, the words on the screen appear wavy and uncertain, displayed on a screen hanging above the stage:_

SECTION 5: ENEMY INJURY/CASUALTY REPORTS

Jefdan Snafburn, pilot, eliminated

Lorelei Jallisis, co-pilot, eliminated

Roz Capinta, supply clerk, severe injuries inflicted, taken into First Order custody, cell block 549C

Leia Organa, general, severe injuries inflicted, location unknown   
  


**KYLO** _, whispering, begging, pleading:  
_ Mom . . . I thought you were dead . . . I thought you died on the _Raddus_. . . you can’t . . . now . . .

_KYLO chokes as a sob tears its way out of his throat and his body folds in on itself. Lights fade on KYLO and rise on the other side of the stage._

_Meanwhile, across the galaxy (and the stage), REY is holding LEIA’s hand as LEIA sleeps off a cocktail of medication prescribed by HARTER KALONIA. REY’s head suddenly jerks up, her eyes darting around the med bay. Inexplicably, KYLO appears on the other side of a row of cots. With the existing noise muted by their connection, REY can hear every one of his gasping sobs._

_REY sucks in a breath and blows it out slowly, contemplatively. She looks at LEIA; she looks at KYLO. A slight nod indicates she has made a decision. REY crosses the room and kneels next to KYLO._

**REY:**

Pitiful creature of darkness

What kind of life have you known?

Force give me courage to show you

You are not alone!

_REY remains, kneeling at KYLO’s side with one arm encircling his back, until the connection fades along with the lights._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Down Once More / Track Down This Murderer" from The Phantom of the Opera. Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; lyrics by Charles Hart. Hear it here: https://youtu.be/ZjTFWrB00wA?list=PLoRMcp797qeusskmeFPwQHPRyFsv7K7e0  
> Rey’s lyrics begin at 6:40.


	41. Act III, Scene 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming back to canon for this, the one unreservedly good part of TRoS!

**SCENE 7: An empty beach on the Silver Sea, Chandrila**

Lyrics for the song at the scene's end are taken directly from "Testimony" from _Amazing Grace: The Musical_

_KYLO REN sits at the water's edge, staring out over the waves. A stick of driftwood snaps behind him. KYLO leaps to his feet, turns swiftly, and freezes with his hand halfway to his saber._

**A VISION OF HAN SOLO,** _spoken:_

Hey, kid. _(Pause)_ I miss you, son.

**KYLO,** _spoken over the lump in his throat_ :

Your son is dead.

**HAN,** _advancing slowly:_

No. Kylo Ren is dead. My son is alive.

**KYLO** , _swallowing regretfully_ :

You're just a memory.

**HAN:**

Your memory. _(Pause)_ Come home.

**KYLO** :

It’s too late. I . . . I can’t be forgiven.

**HAN:**

No, Ben. It’s never too late. 

**KYLO:**

I know what I have to do, but I don't know if I have the strength to do it.

**HAN** , _caressing his son’s face, forgiveness in his eyes:_

You do.

**KYLO:**

Dad . . .

**HAN** , _gently:_

I know.

_KYLO turns and hurls his lightsaber into the sea. BEN SOLO turns back around and begins to sing:_

**BEN:**

In a moment of truth

I can see what I am

Like a mist on the bay

That is here and is gone

Or a dream that awakes

With the coming of dawn

So am I

I can feel something more

Stirring deep in my soul  
  
A burning for things

I’ve neglected so long  
  
A yearning to sing

The rest of the unfinished song

Of my life  
  


And that man that I was

I’ll cast him on the fury of the sea

Let the wind and waves

Wash away the fool I used to be

Then I won’t be ashamed

To stand and proclaim I am free

I am free!

_BEN sprints for his TIE, climbs in, and leaves Chandrila behind._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Testimony" from _Amazing Grace: The Musical_. Lyrics and music by Christopher Smith. Ben's portion covers the first minute and 33 seconds of this recording: https://youtu.be/kVFYl1A5h08 
> 
> SPOILERS for _Amazing Grace_ : As you may have guessed, the musical is connected to the well-known hymn. The lyrics for "Amazing Grace" were penned by John Newton in the 1770s, although they were not set to the music we know today until 1835. Newton was a British slave trader who converted to Christianity, became an Anglican priest, and later was active in the English abolition movement. The musical presents a dramatized version of his life story.


	42. Act III, Scene 8 (ForceSkype #7)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a brief plot advancement scene with no music, but I’ll be posting the next scene and song immediately after this.

**SCENE 8: A space battle outside the _Finalizer_**

_BEN SOLO drops out of hyperspace in his_ Silencer _. Within seconds, First Order TIEs “surround” him (thanks to the magic of digital backdrops!) and begin firing._

 **BEN** , _barking into his comm:_

Hux, this is the Supreme Leader. Call off the fighters!

 **HUX** , _chuckling_ : 

Oh, Ren. Deluded to the very end. There is no Supreme Leader here . . . but me.

 _BEN slams his fist into the comm and begins evasive maneuvers. Famous Solo piloting skills notwithstanding, BEN is grossly outnumbered, and the situation grows grim. The bond opens, and REY quickly assesses BEN’s predicament._ _**  
**_

_**REY** , under her breath:_

Sithspit! 

_REY reaches out to touch the navicomputer, only to find her fingers passing through it. She growls in frustration and grabs BEN’s arm. He spares her a brief glance, and she reaches for the navicomputer again. This time, her fingers find purchase. REY rapidly punches in a series of calculations, and the_ Silencer _jumps to hyperspace._

 **BEN** :

What the —  
 _  
Ignoring BEN’s protests, REY directs them through a series of lightspeed skips. When no more TIEs appear behind them, she takes a slow, deep breath and punches in a final set of coordinates: the ones for Ajan Kloss._

 **BEN** : Rey. Where are you taking me?

 _Before REY can reply, the bond closes, and a stunned_ _BEN is left staring at the blue and white streaks of hyperspace._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I used the lightspeed skips from TRoS, ignored Ben’s TRoS TIE Whisper in favor of his TLJ TIE Silencer, and made up some Force Bond rules. If JJ can pick and choose which parts of canon to keep and which parts to retcon, so can I. xD


	43. Act III, Scene 9

**SCENE 9: Resistance base, Ajan Kloss**

To the tune of “Something’s Coming” from _West Side Story_

  
_REY stands stock-still, a smile spreading across her face, as she begins to sing._   
  


**REY:**

Could be . . . 

Who knows?

I think he pushed dark away

Need to hear what he’ll say

Soon as he shows

He may come cannonballing down through the sky

Gleam in his eye

Ben to his toes

Who knows?

My fam’ly dreams out of reach

Loneliness like a leech

Clinging to me

My friends try to love me, it’s true

Is it them versus you?

Could it be “we”?

Could it be? Yes, it could

If Ben’s coming, if he’s good

If I can wait

Someone’s coming

I don’t know who it is

But change is

Never too late

  
_REY takes off running across the base._   
  


Must tell Leia, what a shock

Here’s her door, now I’ll knock

Open the latch

Your son’s coming, don’t know when, but it’s soon

Our bond’s tune

Sings out our match

Around the corner

Or flying down the river

Come on, deliver

To me!

Will my friends take him in?

Can they forgive all his sins?

Hatred may flare

Let’s go meet him off the base

Hide his face

Secret place

Out of their stares

The air is humming

And maybe Ben

Is coming

Who knows?

He’s only just out of reach

Landing soon near a beach

I’m heading there . . .

_REY, LEIA, and CHEWIE (whom Leia located during one of Rey’s enraptured pauses) make their way to a secluded lake next to an open field, a couple of klicks from the base._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Something’s Coming” from _West Side Story_. Original lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; music by Leonard Bernstein. 
> 
> The original Broadway cast recording can be found here: https://youtu.be/y8xi4Nb-0BA
> 
> But I much prefer this concert version with Jeremy Jordan singing Tony. Anyone else love him as Jack Kelly in _Newsies_? https://youtu.be/aB49HIh2RJQ


	44. Act III, Scene 10

**SCENE 10: A meadow bordering a lake, a few klicks from the Resistance base on Ajan Kloss**

A lightly edited rendition of the first half of “Words Fail” from _Dear_ _Evan Hansen_

 _BEN SOLO stands next to his_ Silencer _, clenching his fists and biting his lip. The_ Falcon _sits_ _nearby. The ramp lowers; LEIA, REY, and CHEWIE disembark. REY and CHEWIE remain near the_ Falcon _, but LEIA walks — slowly, deliberately — to her son and looks up into his eyes._

_BEN draws in a breath, squares his shoulders, and speaks.  
_

**BEN:**

Mom . . .

 _(Sung)_ I never meant to make it such a mess

I never thought that it would go this far

So I just stand here sorry

Searching for something to say

Something to say

Words fail, words fail

There's nothing I can say  
  


I guess I thought I had no other choice

I never felt I measured up before

I never had that perfect girl _(glances at REY)_

Who somehow could see the good part of me  
  


I never had the dad who stuck it out

No corny jokes or grav-ball gloves

No mom who just was there

’Cause mom was all that she had to be

_(LEIA closes her eyes, anguished, before slowly reopening them.)_

  
That's not a worthy explanation

I know there is none

Nothing can make sense of all

These things I've done

  
Words fail, words fail

There's nothing I can say

Except sometimes, you see understanding offered 

And sometimes, you see compassion you wish you had

And it's right there, right there, right there

In front of you _(BEN looks directly at REY)_

And you want to believe it's true

So you . . . trust it’s true

And you think

Maybe

If you just come home then

The others _(BEN glances at CHEWIE, then locks eyes with LEIA)_. . . might forgive you . . . too

_BEN, LEIA, REY, and CHEWIE freeze. Lights dim midway on the field and rise fully on the base at the opposite end of the stage. On a hanging screen above the base, a pre-recorded slideshow begins displaying photos and video clips of a post-TFA grieving LEIA.  
  
_

A lightly edited rendition of “It’s Quiet Uptown” from _Hamilton_

**  
ROSE:**

There are moments that the words don't reach

There is suffering too terrible to name

You hold your loves as tight as you can

And push away the unimaginable

The moments when you're in so deep  
  
It feels easier to just swim down

  
**ROSE & RESISTANCE ENSEMBLE:**

Leia moves the base out of town

And learns to live with the unimaginable  
  


**LEIA ONSCREEN:**

I spend hours in the jungle

I walk and then walk some more  
  
It’s quiet out here

I never liked the quiet before

I lead the generals’ meeting on Zhellday  
  
I pause on my way out the door

And I cry

That never used to happen before

  
**RESISTANCE WOMEN:**

If you see her on the base

Walking by herself, talking to herself

Have pity

  
**LEIA ONSCREEN:**

Han, you would like it out here

You’d fly free out here

  
**RESISTANCE WOMEN:**

She is working through the unimaginable

  
**RESISTANCE MEN:**

Her hair has gone grey

She passes every day  
  
They say she walks the length of the base

  
**LEIA ONSCREEN:**

I must stay strong, can’t fall apart

  
**RESISTANCE ENSEMBLE:**

Can you imagine?

_Lights go down on the base. The video screen shuts off and rises into the fly space. Lights rise fully on the field._

**BEN:**

Look at where we are

Look at where we started

I know I don't deserve you, Mother

But hear me out

That would be enough  
  
If I could spare Dad’s life

If I could trade his life for mine

He'd be standing here right now

And you would smile

And that would be enough

I don't pretend to know  
  
The challenges we're facing

I know there's no replacing what we've lost  
  
And you need time

But I'm not afraid  
  
I know who my mom is

Just let me stay here by your side

That would be enough

  
_An instrumental interlude follows, during which BEN and LEIA can be seen walking around the field and speaking inaudibly._

  
**REY:**

There are moments that the words don't reach  
  
There is a grace too powerful to name

We push away what we can never understand

We push away the unimaginable

They are standing by the _Falcon_

Ben by his mother’s side

She takes his hand

  
**LEIA:**

I love you, son

  
**REY, IN UNISON WITH HAN’S VOICE:**

Forgiveness. Can you imagine?  
  
Forgiveness. Can you imagine?

If you see him on the base

Walking by her side, talking by her side

Have pity 

They are going through the unimaginable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Words Fail” from _Dear Evan Hansen_. Original lyrics and music by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Hear it here: https://youtu.be/OhqsSnX3uII
> 
> “It’s Quiet Uptown” from _Hamilton_. Original lyrics and music by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Hear it here: https://youtu.be/vjEoOeXId1k


	45. Act III, Scene 11

**SCENE 11: Resistance base on Ajan Kloss, several days after Ben’s arrival**

Lyrics for the song at the scene’s end are taken directly from “The Story of Tonight” from _Hamilton._

_  
REY, POE, FINN, and ROSE sit around a table in a makeshift staff lounge, nursing their favorite beverages. It is late in the evening, and the rest of the tables are empty._

**ROSE** : Wow, Rey. This plan is . . . it’s amazing, but it’s a lot to take in.

 **POE** : Are you sure we can trust your contact? How’d you connect with this guy, anyway?

 **REY** : Um . . . 

**FINN** : It must’ve been when you were on the _Supremacy_.

 **REY** : Yeah. You could say that.

 **FINN** : If the First Order finds out he’s leaking information, though . . . _FINN whistles_ . . . Remember the hum of those laser axes, Rose?

 **ROSE** : I’d rather not.

 **POE** : But if his intel’s accurate, this could be it! The stormtroopers will rise up . . . Finn will lead them . . . We won’t just take out a dreadnought, we’ll take down the entire fleet! _POE leans in, eyes flashing._ Maybe I’ll catch Kylo Ren fleeing his flagship. Blow up his TIE.

 **ROSE** : He may not even be on his ship. He hasn’t been seen on the Holonet in over a week.

 _REY’s eyes shift guiltily toward stage right. A spotlight briefly illuminates BEN and CHEWIE sitting around a dying campfire near the_ Falcon, _deep in conversation._

 **FINN** : Forget him. Let’s stick to the plan. 

_FINN shoves back his chair, stands, and begins to sing:_

I may not live to see our glory  
  
 **ROSE, POE, & REY**, _also standing_ :   
I may not live to see our glory

 **FINN** :  
But I will gladly join the fight  
  
 **ROSE, POE, REY:**  
But I will gladly join the fight  
  
 **FINN** :  
And when our children tell our story  
  
 **ROSE, POE, REY** :  
And when our children tell our story  
  
 **FINN** :  
They’ll tell the story of tonight  
  
 **POE** :  
Let’s have another round tonight  
  
 **REY** :  
Let’s have another round tonight  
  
 **FINN** :  
Let’s have another round tonight  
  
 **ROSE** :  
Raise a glass to freedom  
Something they can never take away  
No matter what they tell you

Raise a glass to the four of us  
  
 **ROSE & FINN**:  
Tomorrow there’ll be more of us  
  
 **ROSE, POE, REY** :  
Telling the story of tonight  
  
 **FINN** :  
They’ll tell the story of tonight

 **ROSE, POE, REY** :  
Raise a glass to freedom  
Something they can never take away  
  
 **FINN** :  
No matter what they tell you

 **POE & REY**:  
Let’s have another round tonight

 **ROSE** :  
Raise a glass to the four of us  
  
 **ROSE, POE, REY** :  
Tomorrow there’ll be more of us  
  
 **FINN & ROSE**:  
Telling the story of tonight  
  
 **POE & REY**:  
Let’s have another round tonight  
  
 **FINN & ROSE**:  
They’ll tell the story of tonight

 **POE & REY**:  
Raise a glass to freedom

 **FINN & ROSE**:  
They’ll tell the story of tonight

 **POE & REY**:  
Raise a glass to freedom

 **FINN & ROSE**:  
They’ll tell the story of tonight

 **POE & REY**:  
They’ll tell the story of  
  
 **FINN, ROSE, POE, REY** :  
Tonight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “The Story of Tonight” from _Hamilton_. Original lyrics and music by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Hear it here: https://youtu.be/3vqwrepaMR0


	46. Act III, Scene 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To those unfamiliar with the original song in this scene, Ben and Rey may come across as unnecessarily antagonistic. If you’re feeling that, I encourage you to listen to the song (a link is in the endnotes). This is music that is inherently playful, even while addressing past pain. The accompanying sparring is meant to be friendly, almost like a dance.

**SCENE 12: Ben’s meadow on Ajan Kloss**

To the tune of “I Think I Got You Beat” from _Shrek: The Musical._

_  
BEN and REY are practicing saber forms in the meadow._

**BEN** , _spoken:_

There are things you don't know. You know, about me, about how rough I had it.

 **REY** , _spoken:_

What, in that family home of yours?

 **BEN** , _spoken:_

Family? Are you kidding?

 _(Sung)_ I had no one, in that ho-ome

Save for droids, I was a-lone

Mom was working, Dad was flying

I had only . . .

_BEN swings his saber up toward REY. She blocks, and the two begin to spar, keeping to the tempo of the music._

Ugly crying

Scary thoughts

Snoke was in my head a lot

And when I went to Luke's at age ten

The kids resented me then

Legacies and expectations

Lots of social isolation

Save my friend Tai

And I had to watch him die

Thirty years for truth I waited

While Snoke prevaricated

At night I hear my victims groaning

Now I'll spend my life atoning!

So . . .

I think I got you beat

I think I got you beat

Yeah, yeah, yeah

I think I got you beat

I think I got you beat

**REY** , _spoken:_

Oh, you think so?

That was a sad story, but . . .

 _(Sung)_ I've heard better, I'm just saying

'A' for effort, thanks for playing

I don't doubt it that you suffered

But I had it rougher

Like the time a ripper-raptor

Tore my friend up; I was faster

I had to master

My staff; got chased with blasters

Had to squeeze in tiny spaces

Pull sensors from their places

Got two portions; felt like heaven 

Did I mention I was seven?

So . . . 

I think I got you beat

I think I got you beat

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

I think I got you beat

I think I got you beat

**BEN** : No help with moods 

**REY** : No fresh-grown foods

 **BEN** : And every day

 **REY** : Went to bed hun-gry

 **BEN** _,_ _spoken_ : Okay, top this:

My mom was bombed!

 **REY** : My dad and mom sent me away

Don't know my birthday

 **BEN** , _spoken_ : Our kitchen droid tried to slice me up. Ha!

**BEN (REY)** :

Ugly crying, scary thoughts, Snoke was in my head a lot (No help with moods)

And when I went to Luke's at age ten, the kids resented me then (No fresh-grown foods)

Legacies and expectations, lots of social isolation - save my friend Tai, and I had to watch him die (And every day went to bed hungry)

Thirty years, for truth I waited (No dad and mom)

While Snoke prevaricated (My dad and mom)

At night I hear my victims groaning (Gave me away)

Now I'll spend my life atoning! (Don't know my birthday) 

Thirty years! (You _have_ a mom!)

  
 **BOTH** : My dad and mom

Sent me away

_They pause, sabers locked above their heads, and look into each other’s eyes._

**BEN,** _softly_ : So . . .

 **REY** , _equally softly_ : So . . .

_With a heave, they disengage sabers and spin outward, away from one another._

**BOTH** : I think I got you beat

I think I got you beat

_They reengage, striking and blocking a bit faster now._

**REY** : Yeah

 **BEN** : Yeah

 **REY** : Yeah

 **BEN** : Yeah

 **REY** : Yeah

 **BEN** : Yeah

 **REY** : Yeah

 **BOTH** : I think I got you beat

I think I got you beat

 **REY** : Yeah

 **BEN** : Yeah  
  
 _BEN and REY continue exchanging “yeahs,” at decreasing volume, as they spar their way upstage and the lights fall._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “I Think I Got You Beat” from _Shrek: The Musical_. Original lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire; music by Jeanine Tesori. Hear it here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp-iuLsmyJE&feature=youtu.be 
> 
> Inspiration for Ben’s and Rey’s histories came from _Rey’s Survival Guide_ , a canon juvenile novel by Jason Fry, and _The Rise of Kylo Ren_ comic series by Charles Soule and Will Sliney. Ben’s age at the start of his training with Luke can be inferred from a timeline in the TRoS _Visual Dictionary_. His near-death by kitchen droid occurred in _Last Shot_ , a novel by D.J. Older. "My mom was bombed” refers to the Napkin Bombing in Claudia Gray’s novel _Bloodline_.


	47. Act III, Scene 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Antillia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wookiesauntie70/pseuds/Antillia), enjoy your favorite dashing diplomat! :)

**SCENE 13: Resistance base mess hall, Ajan Kloss**

A lightly edited rendition of “Make Them Hear You” from _Ragtime  
  
_

_FINN_ _and RANSOLM CASTERFO face each other across a table loaded with breakfast dishes and caf mugs._

 **RANSOLM** , _spoken quietly_ : I hear that you and Rose are almost ready. She’s slicing into the comm systems on the _Finalizer,_ correct?

_FINN nods._

**RANSOLM** : And then you’ll speak to the stormtroopers through their helmets? 

**FINN** : Yep.

 **RANSOLM** , _gently_ : You seem uneasy.

 **FINN** _stares down at his caf before replying_ : I am. It’s not just about the war — although I want us to win, of course. But it’s more than that. _Pause._ It’s about choices. I never had any, growing up. Neither did the other guys in my unit. We were taken from our families, told what to do and when to do it. And I never questioned any of it ‘til that day at Tuanal. _Another pause, and a meditative sip of caf._ I want them to know they have the power to write their own story. 

**RANSOLM** : Tell them that. 

**FINN** : What? 

**  
RANSOLM** , _leaning in, sings_ :

Go out and tell your story

Let it echo far and wide

Make them hear you

Make them hear you

How justice was your battle

And how justice was denied

Make them hear you

Make them hear you

  
  
**FINN** :  
  
I’ll say to those who blame me

For the way I chose to fight

That sometimes there are battles

That are more than dark or light

And I could not put down my sword

When justice was my right

I’ll make them hear me

I’ll make them hear me

**FINN** **AND** **RANSOLM** , _rising_ _and addressing the mess hall:_

Go out and tell our story

To your daughters and your sons

Make them hear you

Make them hear you

And tell them in our struggles

We were not the only ones

Make them hear you

Make them hear you

_Resistance members begin to stand and join the singing._

Your sword can be a sermon

Or the power of the pen

Teach every child to raise his voice

And then my friends, and then

Will justice be demanded

By ten billion righteous men

Make them hear you

When they hear you

We’ll be near peace, a-gain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ransolm Casterfo is a dear friend of Leia’s, first introduced in Claudia Gray’s _Bloodline_ and reunited with Leia in _Resistance Reborn_ by Rebecca Roanhorse. A gifted orator who suffered the worst of both the Empire and the First Order, Ransolm knows from experience how the spoken word can change the course of galactic history.
> 
> “Make Them Hear You” from _Ragtime_. Original lyrics by Lynn Ahrens; music by Stephen Flaherty.  
> Hear it here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5Whg_OS7P-c


	48. Act III, Scene 14

**SCENE 14: The Resistance base on Ajan Kloss  
**  
To the tune of “One Day More” from _Les Miserables_ **  
**

**LEIA:**

One day more

Another day, another destiny

To bring peace to a warring galaxy 

We have one chance to stop their crimes

There may not be a second time

One day more

  
**BEN** , _to Rey, in his meadow near the base_ :

We trained together for this day

Tomorrow we must not be parted

  
**LEIA** :

One day more  
  


**BEN** **and** **REY** :

Tomorrow death may come my way

And yet with you, my life has started

 **  
FINN** : 

One more day ‘til I can share

 **  
BEN** **and REY** :

We must locate Gen’ral Hux

  
**FINN** :

There’s a life beyond the Order  
  


**BEN and REY** :

Bring the man to face the law

  
**FINN** :

Can I make the troopers care?

  
**BEN and REY** :

For the crimes he oversaw  
  


**FINN** :

Will they turn and follow me?

  
**POE** :

One more day before the storm

**  
BEN:**

Will I harm Rey if I go?

 **  
POE** :

At the barricade of freedom  
  


**BEN** : 

Am I worthy of the Light?  
  


**POE** :

When our ranks begin to form

 **  
BEN** :

Will the rebels let me fight?

 **  
POE** :

Will you blow up ships with me?  
  


**ALL** :

The time is now

The day is here  
  


**LEIA** :

One day more

_A red spotlight illuminates General Hux standing at the front of the mezzanine._

**HUX** :

One more day to revolution

We will nip it in the bud

We'll be ready for these rebels

They will wet themselves with blood  
  


**LEIA** :

One day more

_Lights rise slightly in the house, revealing a wretched hive of scum and villainy in the aisles._

**THE GALAXY’S SCAVENGERS, SMUGGLERS, AND UNSAVORY CHARACTERS** :

Watch 'em run amuck

Catch 'em as they fall

Never know your luck

When there's a free-for-all

Here a little dip

There a little touch

Most of them are goners

So they won't miss much

**RESISTANCE MEMBERS** :

One day to a new beginning

Raise the flag of freedom high

Soon the bells of peace will ring

Soon the bells of peace will ring

There's a new world for the winning

There's a new world to be won

Do you hear the people sing?

 **  
BEN** , _to Rey_ :

My place is here

I fight with you

 **  
LEIA** :

One day more

**  
BEN and REY:**

We trained together for this day

Tomorrow we must not be parted

 **  
HUX** :

They think they’re the people's heroes

But I follow where they go  
  
Bet I know their little secrets

They don’t know the things I know  
  


**ROSE** , _clutching her Haysian pendant:_

One more day mourning my own  
  


**LEIA** :

One day more

**  
BEN and REY:**

Tomorrow death may come our way

And yet with you my life has started

 **  
HUX** :

One more day to revolution

We will nip it in the bud

We'll be ready for the rebels

**SCAVENGERS, ETC.** :

Watch 'em run amuck

Catch 'em as they fall  
  
Never know your luck

When there's a free-for-all

 **  
LEIA** :

Tomorrow we'll be far away  
  
Tomorrow is the judgement day  
  


**ALL** :

Tomorrow we'll discover

What the Force and future have in store

One more dawn  
  
One more day

One day more

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “One Day More” from _Les Miserables_. Original English lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer; original French text by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel; music by Claude-Michel Schonberg. Hear it here: https://youtu.be/GprHTDDLEF0


	49. Act III, Scene 15

**SCENE 15: A small Resistance ship, hidden on a moon near the _Finalizer_**

Music near the scene’s end is taken from “Do You Hear the People Sing?” from _Les Miserables  
  
_

 **FINN** _is pacing the cockpit as he speaks:  
_. . . you have the power to write your own story, and the new chapter begins right now. If you’re ready to break free from the First Order, meet me in landing bay CR90L in twenty standard minutes.

_FINN taps a button on the console, turns, and looks at ROSE.  
_

**FINN:  
** And now we wait?

 **ROSE** _nods:  
_ Now we wait. I’m keeping a secure channel open so we can monitor communication between commanders and their divisions.

_Several silent moments pass before the sound of singing rises from the ship’s speakers._

_  
_**STORMTROOPERS ABOARD THE _FINALIZER:_**

Do you hear the people sing?

Singing the song of angry men

It is the music of the people

Who will not be slaves again

When the beating of your heart

Echoes the beating of the drums

There is a life about to start

When tomorrow comes!

 **  
FINN** , _wide-eyed, slack-jawed:  
_ They believe me. They actually believe me!

 **ROSE:  
** Of course! Now help me pilot out of here. We’ve got to meet them in fifteen minutes.

_FINN offers a mock salute and plops into the co-pilot’s seat as the lights fade._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Do You Hear the People Sing?” from _Les Miserables_. Original English lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer; original French text by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel; music by Claude-Michel Schonberg. Hear it here: https://youtu.be/-J9AjWomvE0


	50. Act III, Scene 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my new subscribers! You gave me a burst of creative energy that helped me push out this chapter tonight.

**SCENE 16: The _Finalizer_**

Music at the scene’s end is a lightly edited rendition of “Javert’s Suicide” from _Les Miserables_

 _  
FINN and ROSE run across the stage with a gaggle of helmetless Stormtroopers closely following._ _Moments later, BEN and REY poke their heads out from the wings.  
_

 **REY:  
** All clear.

 **BEN:  
** Let’s go.

_BEN and REY move stealthily across the stage, occasionally ducking into sheltered corners of the set as small groups of helmeted (loyal) and helmetless (mutinying) troopers run past, exchanging blaster fire. They come to a closed door. As they ease it open and slip through, a red spotlight illuminates the area, revealing a hitherto-unseen throne room. GENERAL ARMITAGE HUX turns from the viewport. A raging space battle between Resistance and First Order ships is visible there, thanks to the magic of digital backdrops._

**HUX:  
** Ren?!?

 **BEN:  
** That’s not my name.

 **HUX** _, sighing:  
_ Always the theatrics. I don’t particularly care what you call yourself, as long as you’ve come to call me Supreme Leader.

 **REY:  
** I’m afraid not.

 **HUX:  
** Ren. Still distracted by the girl?

 **BEN** _, advancing: **  
** The girl_ is one of the most powerful Force users in the galaxy, Hux. A galaxy which you have no right to rule.

 **HUX:  
** Oh, and you think you do? I doubt you can even rule over your little girlfrie—

_Hux’s body slams against the back wall and stays there, courtesy of the Force and a couple of stage wires. He emits a painful wheeze._

**REY:  
** Ben.

 **BEN:  
** We could just end him now, you know. It would be fair recompense for Starkiller.

 **REY:  
** _Ben.  
_

 **BEN:  
** I don’t have any grounds to discuss recompense, do I.

 **REY:  
** I know you’ll do what you can to atone, but the galaxy won’t ever know. We shouldn’t deprive the people of another chance to see justice decided by public trial.

_BEN nods. HUX slides to the floor, gasping, still in a Force hold._

**REY** _ **:  
**_ Let’s put him in the brig.

 **BEN** _taps a nearby data screen a few times:  
_ Can’t. Looks like Poe blew it up. 

**REY:  
** No surprise. What about that door over there? Can we lock him in?

 **BEN** **:  
** That should be safe enough. It’s just a storage room with no other entrance but an airlock. Snoke used to receive secret deliveries there.

 **REY:  
** Perfect. One Armitage Hux, ready for delivery to your mother.   
  
**BEN** _, dryly:_ **  
**I almost feel sorry for him.

 _With calm efficiency, REY and BEN_ _toss HUX through the storage room door._

 **BEN:  
** Let’s get to the bridge.

_BEN and REY exit the stage. HUX hauls himself to his feet and leans weakly against the wall. Elsewhere on the set, another group of fighting Stormtroopers passes through. HUX catches his breath, straightens, and begins to sing._

**  
HUX:**

Who is this man, what sort of devil is he?

To have me caught in a trap and choose to let me go free?

It was his hour at last to put a seal on my fate

Wipe out the past and wash me clean off the slate!

Easily done with his glowing red knife

Vengeance was his and he gave me back my life!

  
Damned if I'll live in the debt of a dog!

Damned if I'll yield at the end of the chase

I am th’ First Order and we are not mocked

I'll spit his pity right back in his face

There is nothing we share in the end

It is either my life or it’s Ren’s!

  
How can I now allow this man

To hold dominion over me?

This maddening man whom I have hunted

He gave me my life, he gave me mercy

I should have perished by his hand

It was his right

It was my right to die as well

Instead, I live . . . but live in hell

  
And my thoughts fly apart

Can this man be believed?

Shall his sins be forgiven?

Shall his crimes be reprieved?

  
And must I now begin to doubt

Who never doubted all these years?

My heart is stone and still it trembles

The world I have known is lost in shadow

Justice has been turned upside down

So does he know

That granting me my life today

This man has killed me even so?

  
I am reaching, but I fall

And the stars are black and cold

As I stare into the void

Of a world that cannot hold

  
I'll escape now from that world

From the world of Kylo Ren

There is nowhere I can turn

There’s only one way this can end . . .

_Hux’s voice fades out as he leaps out the airlock into the vacuum of space (a.k.a. the trap door in the stage floor)._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Javert’s Suicide” from _Les Miserables_. Original English lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer; original French text by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel; music by Claude-Michel Schonberg. Hear it here: https://youtu.be/_bgNP7wzjGo


	51. Act III, Scene 17

**SCENE 17: The bridge of the _Finalizer_**

Music at the scene’s end is “Something Good” from _The Sound of Music_ , with only the smallest of changes. _  
_

_  
REY and BEN emerge from the wings and burst onto the bridge, ready to defend themselves — but the bridge is empty, save for a couple of First Order officers’ corpses sprawled on the floor. The continuing space battle is visible through the bridge’s panoramic viewport._

**REY:  
**You’re sure this will work?

 **BEN** , _with a smirk reminiscent of his father:  
_Trust me, sweetheart. Hux couldn’t have overridden this code. 

_BEN nimbly stoops over one of the lower data screens and taps it several times. A light beams out from the screen, scans BEN’s eyes, and disappears. He takes a deep breath and straightens._

**BEN** :  
This is Supreme Leader Kylo Ren. I am re-assuming control of this fleet. Armitage Hux has been taken into custody and demoted. The fleet is hereby ordered to stand down. All First Order personnel are to immediately cease any and all offensive action against the Resistance. I repeat, stand down and wait for further orders.

_Silence._

_Then, through the viewport, the green streaks of turbolaser fire suddenly stop. TIE fighters retreat to the Star Destroyers. The First Order fleet hangs silently in space._

**REY** , _throwing her arms around BEN:  
_You did it! 

_BEN staggers back a step under the force of REY’s hug. His arms hang awkwardly for a moment until he carefully, gently, brings them up to encircle her. She lifts her face, he looks down, and suddenly they are kissing for the very first time._

**REY** , _a few moments later:  
_I love you.

 **BEN** , _smiling_ :  
I know.

( _Sung_ ) Perhaps I had a mis’rable childhood

Perhaps I had a wicked youth

But somewhere in my wicked, miserable past

There must have been a moment of truth

For here you are, standing there, loving me

Whether or not you should

So somewhere in my youth or childhood

I must have done something good

Nothing comes from nothing

Nothing ever could

So somewhere in my youth or childhood

I must have done something good

  
**REY** :

For here you are, standing there, loving me

Whether or not you should

  
**BEN** : 

So somewhere in my youth or childhood

I must have done something good

  
**BOTH** :

Nothing comes from nothing

Nothing ever could

  
**BEN:**

So somewhere in my youth

  
**REY** : 

Or childhood

  
**BEN** :

I must have done something . . .

  
**BOTH** :

Something good

_  
BEN and REY continue kissing as the lights fall._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Confession: “Something Good” was NOT part of the original Broadway production of _The Sound of Music_. It was written for the 1965 film adaptation with Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. However, it proved so popular that it was included in many later stage productions of TSoM, including the 1998 Broadway revival.
> 
> Here I’m including the film version, because it’s lush and romantic and magical: https://youtu.be/7_06QFixRkE


End file.
